By now, all of us who devote our time and energy to the challenging mission of increasing access to civil justice understand an important truth: partnerships and effective coalition-building are central to our success as legal services providers. State by state, advocates for the poor learn each day the importance of teamwork and, in doing so, discover that they can accomplish far more together than they ever can alone.

The leaders of the American equal justice community, our partners, are a diverse yet complementary group of professionals, consisting not just of legal services providers, but all pro bono attorneys, state and local bar leaders, IOLTA directors and other funders, local legal services board members and members of statewide Access to Justice Commissions, mental health counselors, social workers, victim advocates, state and local legislators, state and local government agencies and, of course, the judiciary.

Of these, only judges—one group of our partners—have the authority to administer the system through which low-income Americans with critical legal needs can gain meaningful access to civil justice. Judges have a special responsibility to ensure that our legal system treats the poor with dignity and respect and promotes a sense of fair play for those who cannot afford legal representation. And no group of judges takes this responsibility more seriously than the chief justices who preside over the states’ highest courts.

With great enthusiasm this January, I accepted an invitation to participate in the Conference of Chief Justices, a distinguished group of jurists composed of the highest judicial officers from each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. Founded in 1949, this extraordinary group meets regularly to discuss matters of importance dealing with how to improve the administration of justice in each state and throughout this country. Having attended part of their winter meeting in New York City, I am proud that the chief justices have placed the issue of access to justice at the top of their agenda. On behalf of the Legal Services Corporation, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Conference and to applaud their work. It has become clear to all that when a chief justice makes access to justice a priority, things happen in that state that would not otherwise happen. It starts a domino effect, of sorts, that inspires legislators, lawyers, corporate leaders, and others to redouble their commitment to seeing justice done for the poor. Indeed, the most far-reaching successes have been achieved in states with chief justices who make this issue an important personal cause.

What significant roles have chief justices played? They create Access to Justice Commissions charged with formulating statewide strategic plans to help bolster the work of legal services providers and respond effectively to the emerging needs of the poor. Chief Justices play a pivotal role in encouraging every member of the private bar to embrace his or her professional responsibility to engage in significant pro bono activities. They lead the efforts to secure additional sources of funding for under-funded legal aid programs. They encourage the initiation of statewide studies that accurately document the unmet legal needs of the poor and lend support at the state legislative level for more adequate resources. Perhaps most importantly, they use their positions to effectively and forcefully articulate the call for equity, fairness and equal access to justice. As their state’s chief judicial officer, they give speeches, write newspaper opinion pieces, suggest improvements in the court and in the administration of the justice system, and vocally recognize and support the important and significant work of their local legal services programs.

I would like to offer just a few examples to illustrate the enormously influential role that chief justices can play. While far from an exhaustive list of the efforts of the chiefs, these examples afford some insight into what can be accomplished when there is leadership at the very highest level of a state’s judiciary and is based on the efforts of those chiefs I have had the pleasure of meeting during my travels among LSC grantees.

In Montana, under the leadership of Chief Justice Karla Gray, the Court established the Equal Justice Task Force. The Task Force conducted the state’s first comprehensive legal needs study to document the problem, and Chief Justice Gray even participated in gathering data for the study. She has been an inexhaustible champion of increased pro bono participation, encouraging Montana lawyers to volunteer their time and skills to those in need of legal assistance. She was a strong supporter of Montana’s pro bono opt-out system, which presumes that lawyers agree to take cases on a pro bono basis unless they affirmatively indicate to the contrary. Chief Justice Gray has also helped build support for federal funding for LSC and its grantee, Montana Legal Services Association, with members of Montana’s congressional delegation.

In Idaho, under former Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout’s leadership, the Idaho Supreme Court created the Access to the Courts Committee dedicated to expanding civil legal assistance. The Court worked with Idaho Legal Aid Services to develop more than 300 court-approved legal forms that will be available to pro se litigants in both English and Spanish on the statewide legal services websites to be used in all courts of the state. Her successor, Chief Justice Gerald Schroeder, has indicated that he will continue the Court’s commitment to provide support and leadership to expand access to justice in the state.

In Maryland, Chief Judge Robert Bell was instrumental in achieving passage, and a subsequent increase, in the filing-fee surcharge, providing essential funding to support the work of the Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland and other providers of civil legal services. Also under his leadership, new pro bono rules were adopted in 2002 requiring Maryland attorneys to report their voluntary pro bono service annually. Chief Judge Bell also created a pro se committee of the Maryland Judiciary charged with making it more possible for self-represented clients to receive a fair hearing despite their unfamiliarity with the legal process.

In Texas, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson continues a tradition of strong support by his state’s supreme court, which is a major reason Texas is the subject of the cover story of this issue of Equal Justice Magazine. The Texas Supreme Court has held two hearings on the state of legal services for the poor in Texas over the last four years—unique judicial events. The Justices created the Texas Access to Justice Commission following the first hearing in 2000, and the Commission recently adopted an ambitious five-year strategic plan to increase resources for civil legal services, including the creation of an endowment for legal aid, and also calling for dramatically increased pro bono participation throughout the state. (See story.)

Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of New York has worked tirelessly to spur the creation of permanent funding sources for civil legal services in her state. She helped create an access to justice entity that coordinates efforts to improve the availability of civil legal services and promotes new funding opportunities. She created the position of Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, which is responsible for increasing access to justice. Chief Judge Kaye also created a first-of-its kind Access to Justice Center in 2001 to assist low-income New Yorkers facing serious legal problems.

Chief Justices across the nation have been critical partners in promoting access to justice. In this issue’s cover story, Chief Justice Jefferson of Texas is absolutely right when he says that judges are incredibly important symbols of access to justice. This is particularly true of the states’ active and influential chief justices, who collectively bring credibility, significance, visibility, energy, enthusiasm, and momentum to the vitally important efforts to make real the promise of equal justice under the law. The legal services community is fortunate to have the active and essential support of this extraordinary group of men and women in support of its goal to ensure equal access to justice for all.

n Helaine M. Barnett is the President of LSC. Prior to leading LSC, she spent 37 years as an advocate at the Legal Aid Society of New York City, the last ten as head of its Civil Division.